Strange Encounters
by FlameEmpress16
Summary: What would happen if the Fairy Tail characters accidentally ended up in the Blue Exorcist world? Will they be able to survive in this demon filled world? Or will they never survive to make it back home? (I do not own anything from Blue Exorcist or Fairy Tail) Rated for later chapters. Yaoi, if you don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own anything from these shows.

Pairings will be apparent as the story goes on

* * *

><p>Natsu groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He stared up at the stone ceiling before slowly sitting up. Looking around, he found himself in a damp cell and felt the cool steal of shackles on his wrist; which had chains leading off them to the wall. The light in the room was so dim that it was hard for him to see his surroundings. Natsu tried summoning his dragon flames, but there was nothing; not even a small spark of heat. Wherever he was, there was something here that was keeping his magic from working.<p>

"Gah, what the hell?!" Natsu yelled and he tried to break the chains, pouting when they did not break. The last time he was not able to use his magic, he was on Edolas; which he was hoping he was not on now. He hated not being able to use his magic, especially now when he really needed it. There was the sound of light footfall coming from outside of his cell, and he could see the light of a torch approach the wooden door. The light seemed to pause right outside the door of his cell and a pair of green eyes looked through the small, barred window in the door. Natsu looked through the bars, meeting the gaze of the new person. "Who the hell are you and why am I here?!"

The man regarded Natsu coldly, as if he was disgusted by that fact that he was alive. "Quit your yelling, you're giving me a head. If you really want to know where you are, you're in the True Cross Organization's underground dungeon."

Natsu crossed his arms and glared at the person, not liking how the other had regarded him so coldly. He did not know why the other hated him; he did not even do anything to the other. "What's the True Cross?"

"Well I guess it doesn't matter if I tell you what it is," The man said, sneering at him. "The True Cross is a group that specializes in killing demons and people like you. That's why you're here. You and a few other people were found a while ago and are waiting to be executed for being the spawn of Satan."

Natsu narrowed his eyes a bit when he heard this. Originally, he had thought that he might just have been arrested by the Magic Council, but this seemed a lot worse than what he had been thinking. He was still not very sure about what the True Cross was, but they seemed to be the enemy; especially since it seemed that they may also be holding his friends hostage. "I didn't even do anything! And I don't even know who this Satan guy is! Now let me out of here, and tell me where my friends are!"

"Tch, yeah right. Everyone knows who Satan is, and it's clear to see from your powers, and those of your friends, that you're related to Satan." The male growled, glaring at him intensely, and Natsu was returning the glare tenfold. If anything happened to his friends, Natsu was going to do whatever it took in order to make these people pay. No one hurt his friends or made them cry and got away with it. "If you're so worried about your friends, then die first so you don't have to see them die." Natsu growled and was about to return with a comeback, but he was interrupted by a new voice.

"That will be quite enough now." A voice said and the pair of eyes that had been looking through the window turned away.

"A-ah, Mephisto sir…I-I was ordered to guard the new prisoners…" The man said, his voice full of uncertainty. Natsu blinked and moved to look through the window, curious as to what was happening outside his small cell. Luckily, the chains were long enough to let him get to the window. Outside, he could see a strange new man that was dressed up in white with a large white top hat. Natsu looked the male over, finding that he reminded him a bit of a clown, and he also smelled really strange. This whole place smelled strange to him, but the new person smelled the strangest so far.

The male, Mephisto, hummed some and glanced at Natsu. Natsu blinked and swore that the other had winked at him before looking back at the other man. "I'll handle the guard duty from here. I have something that I want to discuss with them anyways."

"Y-yes sir." The man said and Natsu saw the shadow of the other as he moved to leave the dungeon. All was quiet except for the sound of footsteps fading away into the distance. Once the man was gone, the wooden door swung open, taking Natsu by surprise. Natsu let out a startled yelp before being painfully squished between the door and the wall of his cell.

Mephisto blinked and moved the door away from the wall, letting Natsu fall down to the floor. "Hmm, sorry about that. I forgot that you were there by the door."

Natsu groaned from his place on the floor and slowly sat up, rubbing his head. He looked up at Mephisto, not trusting him. "I don't know who you are, but if you hurt my friends, I'll-"

"Stop right there." Mephisto said, cutting him off. He smiled and used magic to levitate Natsu up onto his feet. "I don't plan on hurting you, or your friends. In fact, I have a proposal for you." Mephisto moved to sit down, and a chair appeared out of nowhere just as he did. He snapped his fingers and another chair appeared behind Natsu and he was pushed down onto it. A teapot and a couple tea cups appeared in the air; the teapot soon filling each one with tea. One of the tea cups floated over to Natsu. "Want some tea? It's really good."

"Er, no thanks." Natsu shook his head. He was not much of a tea person, but if Mephisto had offered him food or fire, it would have been a different story. He looked at the other male, thinking the other was quite strange; especially since he was able to summon objects out of midair. He did not know anyone else who was able to do that. He honestly thought that Mephisto was very, very strange. "You're really strange."

Mephisto let out a small chuckle and took a sip of his tea. "Well isn't that quite rude? Especially when I was actually thinking of helping you and your friends out of here, but I guess it's to be expected."

Natsu blinked and quickly looked at him. "Eh? You can do that?!"

"But of course," Mephisto started. He placed his cup of half drunken tea on a small saucer that appeared in the air next to him, and was suspended there in midair. "Though it will definitely take some time, but I think I can pull some strings to get you out of here." Natsu nodded, thankful that there was a chance that they could all get out of there. "I'll have to take to the elders, but I think they will listen to what I tell them. You'll be set free from this place; if only with a few conditions."

"Conditions?" Natsu tilted his head, wondering what would happen if they were set free.

"We'll discuss those once the hearing is done." Mephisto snapped his fingers and the tea set disappeared. Appearing in their place, were a couple packets of instant Ramon; already prepared. "Hungry?"

"Oh yeah!" Natsu smiled and started eating the food. Natsu ate so fast, it was like he was starving or had not eaten in a very long time. "Shank shu flor she mood." He said between bites, meaning to say 'thank you for the food'. It did not take long for him to finish his Ramon before Mephisto was able to eat a third of his.

Mephisto smiled an amused smile. "Hmm, seems like I'm not the only one who loves instant Ramon."

"Oh, that's what that was called. I didn't know that, but it was good." Natsu smiled. He had been questionable about Mephisto before, but after he gave him food and offered to help him and his friends, he was sure that Mephisto was a good guy. "Thanks again!"

Mephisto sweat dropped a bit and leaned against the arm of his chair. "Well, instant Ramon does have a sort of charm to it. That's why I'm rather fond of it. Anyways, about your situation, I've been observing you and I've come to think that you may just be from another world." Natsu sweat dropped, automatically thinking of Edolas once again. He really did not like that place at all.

"Really? How can you tell?" Natsu was curious about how Mephisto could tell so easily that he was from a different world.

Mephisto hummed some, as if thinking of what to say to him. "Well, you and your friends' special abilities make you abnormal here, so the True Cross thought you were part of Satan's children, but I know you're not."

"How?"

"Because I am the second oldest of Satan's children. I go by Mephisto now, and Sir Pheles in public, but my real name is Samael."

Natsu took a moment to think about this, before looking at Mephisto, confused. "But then…aren't you the person these guys are after?!"

"Yes, though it's a terribly lot to explain. To put it simply, I work for the True Cross against my father."

Natsu nodded a bit, things starting to make more sense to him. "But then, wouldn't they listen to you if you work for them? Couldn't you just tell them that we're not Satan's children?"

"That's more difficult. Despite me working for them for 200 years, they still don't really trust me. Plus, it's hard to go against the word of the Paladin when he says people fell from the sky."

"Paladin?"

"The Paladin is the strongest person in the organization. The Paladin this time is Arthur Auguste Angel."

"Oh…" Natsu was starting to wonder if Mephisto's way of getting them out of there was more difficult than he thought. He wished that his magic worked; then at least could create an exit for them.

Mephisto smiled pleasantly and looked at Natsu. "Don't worry, I can be very persuasive when I need to." Natsu nodded a bit. He could not help but wonder how the other was planning to get the elders to let them go. Mephisto looked at his watch, which also just appeared. "Oh my, look at the time. If we want to stop you and your friends from being executed, I have to go talk to the elders now. If everything turns out for the better, you will all be set free and will learn your verdict at your hearing."

Natsu nodded, then yelped as the chair he had been sitting on disappeared from under him, causing him to fall to the floor. He let out a quiet groan and rubbed his head before glaring up at the demon king. "What did you do that for, you jerk?!"

Mephisto chuckled as he stood up, the chair behind him vanishing. "My apologies. I had just expected that you would have gotten up quickly. Well, at least you know now." Natsu just continued to glare at him. He glared at him until Mephisto stepped out of the cell, closing and locking the door behind him. Natsu leaned against the wall, sighing silently. He wondered how the others were doing and if they had received the same talk that he had. Maybe Mephisto had already talked to each of them, he would not know if he did. Natsu wondered who else was here. Maybe Lucy and the others were dragged here along with him. If that was the case, he was hoping they were alright; even Gray, even though he was annoying most of the time.

Natsu laid down on the ground, looking up at the ceiling, when his stomach growled. "Ugh, I could really use some more of that Ramon just about now." He sighed and slowly closed his eyes, soon falling into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

14

**Rin's POV**

It was just another day in the Exorcist Cram School, or would have been that is, if a group of strange people had not been introduced into the class. Rin was watching from his desk as his brother, Yukio, was about to introduce a group of new students that were sent to this school directly from Mephisto. Usually, he would be curious about anyone who entered the class, but that fact that it was Mephisto that enrolled him caused him to be a bit more suspicious of them. For all he knew, the people could be demons like Amaimon.

Yukio paused and took a moment to adjust his glasses before looking at them. "As I suppose you already know, today some new classmates are joining us. Until further notice, they will be attending classes here, so I hope you will all make sure that they feel welcome and…." Yukio tailed off as his attention moved to one of the new students; a male with short black hair who, for some reason, was only in his boxers. "Gray Fullbuster, your clothes."

The male, Gray, blinked and looked down, obviously not knowing that he was only in his boxers. He sighed. "God dammit, not again!"

Rin could not resist the urge to laugh as he watched Gray retrace his steps after finding a trail of clothes leading out of the classroom. He smiled and folded his hands behind his head, fully amused by this. Whoever these guys were, they were amusing and they did not seem like bad guys. Maybe he did not have to be so careful around them after all, though he was still going to make sure that they did not find out about him being the son of Satan.

Gray soon returned, except this time he was fully dressed again, though Rin wondered how long that would last for. Gray sighed silently and glared at the pink-haired male when he heard him snicker. "What are you laughing at, flame brain?"

"What did you call me, ice bastard?!" The pink-haired male yelled, returning the glare. Rin sweat dropped since you could practically see the sparks flying between the two. They fought even more than him and Bon, which meant a lot considering how much they fought.

It did not take long for the fight to escalate and the strange male and Gray were now wrestling while rolling around on the ground. However their fight did not last long since a woman with long red-hair wearing armor grabbed both of them by their collars, lifting them up off of the floor with ease. Both of them yelped as their heads were banged together and they were allowed to fall back onto the ground.

Rin unconsciously shrunk down a bit in his chair, now scared of the red-head. The woman reminded him to much of Shura, and she even had her hot headed attitude. He made a mental note to not do anything to make the red-head mad, and to also keep her and Shura from meeting. If the two ever met, he was sure he would never see the light of day again.

Gray and the pinkette both groaned from their places on the floor, large bumps now appearing where their heads had collided. The woman was standing over them, a scary atmosphere around her and she looked down at them. "Enough, Natsu-kun, Gray-kun."

"W-we're sorry, Erza…we'll be good…" The two said simultaneously, obviously just as scared of the red-head, Erza, as Rin was, or even more so.

"Alright you three, settle down." Yukio said, moving over to the three. He whispered something to Erza, though Rin could not really hear what they were talking about.

_Hm, so Yukio has a secret. _Rin thought and a part of him already wanted to find out what was going on. Mainly it was because his brother seemed a bit too friendly with the newcomers. Well whatever Yukio was hiding, he would find out what it was eventually.

Natsu, having recovered from Erza's abuse, was now pouting up at Yukio. Rin could only guess that it had something to do with what his brother had told them. Gray let out a silent sigh and got to his feet, brushing himself off.

Erza looked at Yukio and nodded. This time Rin tried to make out what she was saying. "We understand the situation. There won't be any problems." Rin blinked and wondered what that was supposed to mean.

Yukio nodded and once again turned his attention to the other students. "Alright, today we're going to do something different. To see just how much you all have improved, you will all separate into groups and work together to exorcise a demon."

"Yes! We finally get to see some action!" Rin said, grinning. Ever since he had started attending this class, he had been wondering when they would get a chance to fight some actual demons instead of just doing more book work. He had come here to learn how to fight demons, but so far he had never even been given a chance to. Until now, that is.

"Please calm down, Okumura-kun. You will only be exorcising a lower level demon." Yukio said, looking at him.

Rin pouted and crossed his arms. Yukio always ended up ruining his fun, which was a pain since they were together for most of the time. "So? We still get to exorcise a demon, mister party-pooper." He mumbled. Yukio's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but he did not comment on what Rin called him.

"What's exorcising?" Natsu asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and, looking everyone looked towards where the sound had come from. Bon had slammed his hands on the desk and was now on his feet, his disapproving gaze on Natsu. "Okumura-sensei, this must be some kind of joke. How can people like them, who know nothing at all about being exorcists, be allowed into this school? They don't even have a small chance to become exorcists!" Natsu pouted at that and got to his feet.

"Shut up, you're too loud." Gray stated bluntly, barely giving Bon a glance.

"Why you-" Bon started, rolling up his sleeves as if he was about to be walking right into a fight. Konekomaru quickly got up from his seat and stepped in front of Bon to keep him from starting a fight.

"Calm down, Bon." Konekomaru said in an attempt to keep the other from getting into trouble. Bon let out a long sigh and seemed to calm down. Rin wondered how Konekomaru was always able to calm Bon down, while everyone else only seemed to make him more aggravated.

Yukio sighed silently and rubbed his temples, slowly continuing. "Just like with Okumura-kun, this is a special case from Mephisto, the head of this academy."

Natsu blinked and looked at Yukio. "You mean that clown guy runs this place?" Rin chuckled from what Natsu just said. At least now he was not the only one that calls Mephisto a clown.

Yukio sweat dropped slightly at that. "Yes, he does…now, if everyone's done messing around, let's head to the battle field."

The battlefield that they were going to use for fighting the demons happened to be the corral that the giant frog demons were usually set free in. Here they would have plenty of room to fight, though it would be difficult to get out of the large bowl-shaped arena if something happened. Right now there were gathered near the edge of the steep decline near the ladder.

Yukio looked at them, adjusting his glasses as he started to speak. "Today's class will be held here. This way only those in the arena will be involved in the fight. You will be divided into five groups, which have been decided for you."

"Wait, we can't even pick our own groups?" Izumo asked, crossing her arms.

"Correct. When you start going on missions, you won't have a choice in who you work with. So this exercise will help you learn to be able to work with others, no matter who they are." Rin pouted slightly. He wished he was able to choose which group he was in. If he was, he would have asked to be in the same group as Shiemi. Though he guessed there was still a chance that he could get to be in her group. Yukio looked at his clipboard. "The groups are as listed: first is; Izumo, Wendy, and Shiemi."

"Aw man, this has to be rigged. They must have put Shiemi in a team of all girls on purpose." Shima said, pouting.

Rin was sulking in the corner now, not liking that he was not working with Shiemi. In fact, knowing his luck, he was going to be partnered up with Bon. Yukio probably planned this all from the start; he would not put it past him. It was probably because him and Bon were always arguing.

"The next team is," Yukio continued to read off his clipboard. "Gray, Erza, and Konekomaru."

"Well this will be interesting." Gray smirked and crossed his arms.

Natsu pouted at him. "No fair. You get monster Erza!" At that comment, the hilt of a sword made contact with Natsu's head creating a large bump. Natsu groaned and rubbed his head, still pouting. "You're scary Erza."

Erza sighed. "Yet you still insist on fighting me."

Natsu just smiled up at her. "Yep!" Rin sweat dropped and wondered if Natsu had a death wish. He was actually glad that he was not on the same team as Erza, mainly because he was sure she would beat him up.

"The next group is Natsu, Bon, and Jellal." Yukio said.

"What?! I have to work with him?!" Bon asked, his voice getting higher and louder. He was obviously not thrilled at all the work with Natsu.

Natsu glared at Bon, then smiled brightly at Jellal. "We get to fight together again!"

Jellal gave a small smile, though Rin could not help but notice that the smile seemed sadder, like he was feeling like he should not be there. Rin frowned a bit and wondered what was wrong with Jellal. Maybe it was just due to them being in a new place and was not anything serious.

"I guess so, Natsu." Jellal said, his voice calmer and quieter in comparison to Natsu and Bon. He seemed like one of the most normal ones of the newcomers group.

"The next group is Rogue, Sting, and Shima." Yukio said.

"Well, this may actually turn out to be fun." Sting said, smirking. He was standing a little ways away from the others with Rogue. Rogue sighed silently and shook his head slowly.

"I hope class ends before our turn. It's too much trouble to do this." Shima admitted, rubbing the back of his head. Rin sweat dropped. Shima was always kind of lazy and hesitant when it came to these kinds of things; though he was always energetic when it came to flirting with girls or reading his perverted magazines.

"Well, I hope we get to go first." Sting said. He grinned and looked at Natsu. "Natsu-san, how about a contest to see who can defeat their demon first?"

Natsu grinned and was on his feet in an instant, looking at Sting. "You're on!" Rin could not help but wonder how this was going to turn out.

"The last team is Okumura-kun, Laxus, and Freed." Yukio said.

Rin blinked and looked at Freed and Laxus. Maybe his partners would not be so bad. After all, the two of them seemed reasonably strong and, if they were here, they must know a lot about exorcism. Though he became doubtful when he saw that Freed was fawning over Laxus.

"Laxus-sama, I'm sure that this exorcise will be nothing for you." Freed said, hugging onto Laxus's arm.

Laxus let out a silent sigh and was trying to push the green-haired mage off of his arm using his other hand. "Yeah sure…can you get off my arm now?" Rin was sure Freed's face turned about ten shades of red before he let go of Laxus's arm.

"I-I'm sorry, Laxus-sama!" Freed stuttered. Laxus sighed and shook his head at that. Rin sweat dropped and wondered what he had got himself sucked into. Well at least he did not get paired with Bon. He was pretty sure that would have driven him clinically insane.

"Well, now that your teams are decided, it's time for us to begin." Yukio said, looking at them. "Now for the first team…the first team to go will be Okumura-kun, Laxus, and Freed."

Rin smiled and, unable to wait any longer, slid down the side wall into the coliseum, balancing like he was surfing as he slid. "Finally! Time to get the action started!"

Yukio face palmed at that and let out a long sigh. "Why does he always do this?" He looked at Laxus and Freed. "You two can go in as well."

"Let's just get this over with." Laxus said, going down into the arena, followed by Freed.

"Don't worry, Laxus-sama. I will guard you." Freed assured.

Rin sweat dropped and wondered if the two knew that they were supposed to work together in this drill. It already seemed like the two were going to work together, but without him. If that was the case, then he will simply work on this on his own. He did not need anyone getting in his way anyways; this demon was all his.

"Alright, this drill is simple. Use your knowledge of exorcism; you are to exorcise a demon. You can use any method you want to handle the demon, as long as you make sure to keep it inside the arena. I say this more for your sake, Okumura-kun." Yukio explained, giving Rin a pointed look when he said the last part. Rin instinctively pouted when Yukio said this and sent his brother a glare; though the other just ignored it.

Konekomaru spoke up then, a nervous tone to his voice. "Um, Okumura-sensei, what if the demon gets out of the arena?"

Konekomaru was one of those types of people that got nervous whenever a situation involving a demon came about. Rin was pretty sure that the whole reason Konekomaru wanted to become an exorcist was because of Bon. Still, he wished that the other would loosen up a bit. What could possibly go wrong with all of them here; and even Yukio was here in case something happened. Plus, the demons were supposed to be weaker ones, so it was not like they were in any danger.

Yukio looked at him. "In the case the demons get out of the arena, I'll step in and exorcise them before they can do any harm."

"Oh, well that's a relief." Konekomaru rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Now let's begin." Yukio said and he motioned to one of the other staff members, who was in charge of operating the gates of the cages for the demons.

On cue, the cages opened with a loud clank and three demons entered the arena. On first glance, the demons could be confused for wolves, but looking closer, one would notice that they had glowing, blood-red eyes and their fangs were much longer and sharper than those of a regular wolf. These were not just average wolves; and it did not help that the wolves were at least three times larger than they were supposed to be.

********** **Laxus's POV **

Several things were running through Laxus's head as he saw the demons; some of which were the questions why he had to do this, what was wrong with this place, and lastly how they were expected to take these things down without using their magic. He remembered that one of the few conditions they had to follow when they were released was that they could not use their magic. So they had to rely completely on their fighting skills alone to take care of the demons. It would be difficult, but Laxus was sure him and Freed could take care of them. He was not sure about Rin though, since he had just met him.

Laxus sighed silently and cracked his knuckles, getting ready for a fight. "This should be over soon." He sweat dropped when he noticed that Freed was once again fawning over him, and there were even hearts where his eyes were supposed to be.

His attention snapped back to the demons when he heard one of them give a feral growl. The three wolves slowly circled them, no doubt trying to find a weak point to attack them from. Their hungry gaze was fixed on them, never once breaking eye contact with them. One of the wolves on his right let out a sound that was less of a growl, and more like a demented hyena laugh.

Laxus held his ground, refusing to give his opponents even the faintest idea that he was intimidated by them. He was well aware of Freed covering him from behind. Freed might be eccentric most of the time, but he could always count on him when he needed him. Rin was to their left and, judging from his idiotic grin, he was obviously thrilled about a chance to fight. He could not help but compare him to Natsu in that aspect.

"Well, there are three of them and three of us." Laxus stated. "So each of us can take one."

"I absolutely agree. You can count on me, Laxus-sama." Freed said, actually calmer than before now that he was getting serious. It sometimes amazed Laxus how quickly Freed could go from being flirty to being serious. He had to be bipolar, or at least something similar to that.

"Sounds good. Just don't get in my way." Rin said, using a joking tone. Even if he was joking, Laxus was still slightly annoyed by the comment. If anything, Rin would be getting in _his_ way, not the other way around.

"Whatever…" Laxus sighed, deciding not to bother commenting about what the other said since he had learned better when dealing with Natsu. With that said, Laxus lunged for the nearest demon. He did not need to look back to know that the others had followed his lead and were each taking on their own demons.

As if someone had signaled for the fight to begin, the oversized wolf Laxus had chosen for his opponent crouched and readied itself to attack. Using its strong hind legs, the demon hound propelled itself forward, aiming its claws right at his throat. The thunder god tched and avoided the attack easily, moving to the right and letting the demon lunge by him.

If he was allowed to use his magic, the wolf would have already been electrocuted where it stood. No, instead he had to rely only on his physical strength, but even then he would be able to easily overwhelm the animal. However, he could not make himself seem anything but human so he had to be careful not to use his full strength. At least he had some self-control, unlike some pink-haired, flame dragon slayers he knew.

"Gees, what a pain." Laxus muttered as he avoided another lunge by the oversized dog. This time the demon had the sense to go for one of his limbs, probably thinking that it could immobilize him. To the hound's misfortune, Laxus had managed to move his leg out of the way in time and retaliate with a solid hit on the wolf's head. However, he had used too much of his strength and so the wolf was sent flying to the other side of the arena. "Hmm…guess I used too much of my strength after all."

Laxus spared a glanced to the others on the rim of the arena. The other students were staring at him in awe, not that that was anything new for him. Popularity was not exactly something new to you if you have been part of Fairy Tail. In fact it was something that is to be expected from joining one of the most well-known, if only for the destruction they cause, guilds in the majority of Fiore. Yukio on the other hand, was not awestruck at all.

The instructor was rubbing his temples with one hand while slowly shaking his head. Apparently Laxus really had gone overboard with his strength, but that did not really matter now. What's done is done; there is nothing anyone can do about it now. Choosing not the pay his disappointed teach any mind, Laxus looked over and Freed and Rin to see how they were doing with their own battles.

Freed was so far able to hold his demon back, though it looked like it was starting to get difficult for him. It was probably since the green-haired mage could not use his runes or his sword. While Freed was usually strong in fights with his magic, which is why he allows him to be one of his bodyguards, without his magic he was not as strong. So even though the deal was for each of them to take care of one of the wolves by themselves, he might have to take care of this one for Freed. The problem was: he did not want to injure Freed's pride by getting involved in his fight.

The large predator crouched down, its body muscles tensing as it got ready to pounce on its prey. Freed was calm and simply stood his ground, staring down his opponent. It was clear that Freed was not going to give up unless things took a change for the worse, so Laxus stood back and watched silently. If something happened that put Freed in danger, he would not hesitate to jump in to pull him out of it. Soon the hound lunged at the rune mage, claws outstretched in preparation to tear him to shreds.

Freed gritted his teeth a bit and dodged to the side at the last minute, the claws of the wolf's left paw barely brushing his cheek as he moved by. The rune mage quickly moved to face the demon, not one to look away from his opponent for even a moment. As he did this, his foot slide out of place and he lost his balance. Freed fell back onto the ground and scrambled to get up; only getting into a sitting position before he saw the hound lunge for him.

Laxus growled dangerously. "Dammit." He moved to send the wolf flying to join its earlier companion, but someone else had beat him to it.

Not sure if he was seeing things right, Laxus could only stare as he saw Rin run by and give the demon a solid kick to the chest, sending it sprawling away from Freed. The only thoughts running through his head was the relief that Freed was okay and how the hell had Rin managed to get to the other before he could. He decided to push these thoughts into the back of his mind and check to make sure that Freed was okay.

"That was a close one," Rin started, rubbing the back of his head. He looked at Laxus and smiled like nothing had happened. Again, Laxus had a very hard time not comparing the younger to Natsu. "Good thing I was here, huh?"

"Yeah…" Laxus allowed himself to mumble as he held a hand out to Freed to help him up. Freed got up without taking his hand, which was strange since it was Freed; his number one fan who usually touches him even when he does not want him to. Laxus blinked slowly and looked his rune mage over. "You alright?"

"I'm fine but…" Freed trailed off and looked away before continuing. "I failed Laxus-sama."

Laxus sighed silently and ran a hand tiredly through his blond hair. He knew what this was about. Freed had his pride as one of his guards crushed after having to be saved by Rin; it was only natural. He would hate to see how the other would react if it had been himself that saved him instead. The result would probably be worse than now.

"Listen…" Laxus started, not continuing until he can see Freed looking at him. "You didn't fail me or anything like that, alright? Of course fighting these things like this would be difficult, so stop moping, okay?"

Freed watched him before slowly smiling; which Laxus knew right away meant that he did not get through to the younger. "I understand…"

_Do you really?_ Laxus thought, hating how he always had a hard time trying to help with anything that involved feeling. Feelings were not something that he was used to dealing with when it came to other people. It just made it all the harder since it was Freed that he was trying to get through to.

Freed still wore that fake smile of his, but it slowly disappeared as his gaze shifted so he was looking past him. "Laxus-sama-!"

Laxus turned around instantly on instinct to see that the two demons him and Freed had fought were lunging at him. He did not have any time to react, so evading the attack was mere impossible without his magic. Focusing, Laxus was starting to feel the familiar tingle that happens when he turns himself into lightning to move quickly, but blinked when he felt someone press into him and push him out of the way.

Taken by surprise, Laxus allowed himself to be pushed out of the way. After quickly recovering his senses, he turned to find Rin standing where he just was. His eyes were closed and both of his hands were outstretched, each resting on the hounds' snouts. The younger stayed like that for a few more seconds before opening his eyes and smiling.

"Okay, why don't you guys go over there with your friend?" Rin asked, motioning over to where the last and final demon was laying calmly on the ground as if it had not tried to attack them earlier. The two hounds nodded and Laxus could only watch as they walked over to join their companion. When the two were gone, Rin looked at him and held out his hand to help him up. "Are you okay?"

Laxus looked at him and took his hand, letting him help him up. "Yeah…I think so…you know, you didn't need to do that. I would have been able to avoid that."

Rin just smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Really? I don't know…I just thought I needed to help you. Even if you didn't need it."

Laxus did not really know what to say to that, but all the same he was actually a bit glad Rin stepped in when he did. If the younger had not jumped in, he would have used his magic in front of the others and get them all locked up again. He knew Gramps would never let him live it down if he allowed that to happen. "Well…thanks….I guess."

"No problem!"

Laxus smiled a bit as he saw Rin with his goofy grin. He did not know why, and he knew he should not be thinking this way about another male, but he thought Rin was actually sort of cute. Not that he was going to admit it to him or the others, especially since he knew that would only make them think that he was gay. That could not happen. Never.

It could not be helped that he thought Rin was cute. When the younger grins like a little kid, and even acts the part, it is hard for anyone not to think he was cute. Plus there were his lips; his perfect kissable li- Wait, no. He knew he definitely should not be thinking about that. It was not normal for him to ever think about kissing another male, no matter how cute and perfect they are.

At these thoughts, a faint blush was starting to form on his cheeks. Finally his thoughts were interrupted by Rin talking to him. "Huh?"

"I said, are you sure you're already?" Rin repeated and he reached out to place a hand on Laxus's forehead. "You look feverish…"

Laxus quickly backed up before the hand could touch him. He knew he was blushing deeper now and he looked away so that the younger could not see the blush. Why was he even blushing? He never blushes, but somehow Rin was able to make him blush. What was going on? "I'm fine."

Rin rubbed the back of his head. "If you say so…"

It was clear from the younger's expression that he did not really believe that Laxus was fine. Laxus was determined to make sure he never found out how he felt for him. After all, he knew that he would likely just scare Rin by telling him that there was a chance he had fallen for him. So this was just going to have to be his dark little secret.

"Laxus-sama, I'm turning in early." Freed called.

Having momentarily forgotten his rune mage, Laxus looked up to see that Freed had climbed back onto the rim of the arena. He did not know when the other had left them, but he did not have the chance to ask as Freed turned and stormed out of the room. Just before he left, the thunder god managed to catch a glimpse of Freed's expression. He had messed up Rin save him, must not have helped the green-haired mage's mind set at all. Knowing him, he probably thought he failed as his protector again. Sometime tomorrow, he was going to have to talk to him and get this all sorted out.

Laxus sighed silently and ran a hand through his hair. He was tired and, at that point, just wanted to go to his room and sleep. Maybe he would get something to eat along the way. He was going to have to deal with Freed in the morning. It was difficult having friends. He wished he knew how the others managed to do this kind of thing.

"Okay, nice job you two." Yukio said from his place on top of the ridge. "You can call it a day while the others do their turns."

There was a series of groans from that, but he did not pay them any attention and just went on his way to his room. All that was on his mind at the moment was getting some sleep and, to his dismay, Rin.


End file.
